Thursday, 08 May 2014

Social Life Neapolitan Pizza (SDSU area)

Social Life has closed

mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog, is an almost daily posting by a few friends (Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy) who share their food-centric experiences with you. Today, Kirk is busy, as is Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy has a bit of time on her hands, so she's writing.

I've noticed a plethora (more than six) of businesses around the County featuring 'design your own pizza and we'll bake it for you very quickly' and have concluded that there must be an amazing ROI (return of investment) on this particular type of operation, possibly based on the business model of Little Caesars. One day, The Mister and I decided to see what this was all about and stopped at the nearest location to home. Social Life is a franchise and the only other location is inside the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.

This is the view from the parking lot- you can see El Cajon Boulevard to the left in the back of this photo.

When you walk in, you're asked if you've ever been here before and if not, a quick explanation of how it all works is given. There's the menu of suggested ingredient topping mixes and then at the far right, a 'crafted by you' option, all pies are basically the same price (unless you choose premium toppings).

You can see the dough being made and portioned (that shiny object to the right is the machine that flattens the dough to the perfect thickness)

You can see the San Felice "00" Pizza Flour bags- it's a blend of American, European and Italian wheat and I do notice an excellent flavor, chew and light crunch in the crust here.

Some of the toppings available...

You watch as your pie is assembled.

Then it's placed into the wood fired oven for about three minutes.

You can pay and have a seat. Or stare and take a photo. Not a long wait.

They use flavorful San Marzano tomatoes...

Here's a view from the cash register. Pay attention to those orange pots to the left. That's (imported from Italy) oregano to the right, in the packages.

Above, #5-Carne. San Marzano crushed tomatoes, mozzarella, pepperoni, sausage and salami. ($7.50). The imported dried oregano, brushed off of branches was scattered over the pie before it went into the oven. The crust is remarkable in that it is very much in the Naples/Neopolitan style (BTDT)-it's light, crunchy and still chewy (not too thin and cracker-like)-see the overhanging shape of the slice? The meat mix combined with the crushed tomatoes is wonderful.

The Mozzarella Salad($7.50), mini mozzarella balls on top of freshly tossed greens, tomatoes, basil and oregano with olive oil and placed on top of a freshly baked olive oil and oregano topped crust. This was very refreshing and a way to get a salad with a lot of fresh lightly crisp bread.

The Gorgonzola Salad ($4) is also refreshing. Mixed greens mixed with olive oil and then with gorgonzola, dried cranberries and caramelized walnuts. Quite a large serving and very good.

In those orange glazed pots (seen in the forefront of the tenth photo) are home made Italian meatballs and marinara sauce (2 meatballs with sauce for $3.50). These are quite large and very flavorful, made with a finely ground meat mix (beef, pork and veal I think). The marinara sauce is lightly seasoned (and not the same as the crushed tomatoes on the pizza).

The #6-Pesto Pizza. Pesto (pine nut and basil) sauce topped with fresh mozzarella, spinach, mushrooms and fresh tomatoes (they were out of sun dried tomatoes on this visit). This was excellent also. It's difficult for me to say which sauce I liked better. The crust is just wonderful- thin and just on the edge of being crackery, but it's not...and it is so flavorful.

There are several televisions in the eating area and a great beer and wine selection.

The self serve area (including to go boxes) is quite organized.

You may have peeked at the menu and notice a "cannoli pizza" ($6) as a dessert. We had to. The crust was lightly baked just through, is crispy and is not browned. Topped with a sweet Ricotta blend (I think Ricotta and condensed milk) and then mini chocolate chips are added, topped with chocolate sauce, powdered sugar and those wonderful, favorite snacks of mine, maraschino cherries. It is sweet: one slice is enough. Know that it is still good later in the day and the next morning...

Comments

Great post! I noticed there's a lot more of these types of pizza joints nowadays, each a little different than the other. Went here a few months ago and liked the selections that we had. Wasn't a fan of the pizza with arugula on top. It ended up just falling off. Good location. Near Alforon and the new shave ice place.

Thanks, cc. The Mozzarella Salad was different, and we just ate the salad using a fork and tore off the bread (since it wasn't sliced anyhow). It's a good neighborhood; we first lived here when we moved to San Diego-nice to see all the businesses there that are thriving.

The food here is really good, Bill. I almost don't want to try the other iterations of this business around town for fear of being disappointed. The tomatoes, plain and just crushed on the pie or all it needs; superb flavor.